House of Cards actor Ian Richardson dies in his sleep

Laconic actor Ian Richardson, famed for his role as the arch manipulator in the BBC political drama "House of Cards", has died suddenly at the age of 72, his agent said.

Richardson, one of the founding members of the Royal Shakespeare Company, first gained nationwide fame in the TV spy drama "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" based on the John le Carre espionage classic.

"It was very sudden. He died in his sleep early this morning," Richardson's agent Jean Diamond told Reuters.

Richardson was due to start filming an episode of the popular TV detective drama "Midsomer Murders."

"He did his make-up and wig sittings only yesterday and was due to start filming at the end of next week," she said.

"House of Cards was just so much his own," Diamond said, reflecting on Richardson's role as the epitome of elegant evil in the BBC parliamentary trilogy.

His oleaginous aside as a Machiavellian politician - "You might say that, I couldn't possibly comment" - has entered the language as a perfect catchphrase for devious evasiveness.

Michael Dobbs, author of House of Cards, said: "I am desperately sad. He is a man I admired immensely. He changed my life. He made a dream of mine a reality. And he did it in a way which transfixed millions of viewers.

"House of Cards was Ian Richardson. He made the character and brought the whole series to life.

"Even John Major's leadership campaign in 1990 came to a halt at 9pm on a Sunday night so that the whole campaign team could sit down and see what was happening.

"Urquhart was a wicked character but Richardson portrayed him in such a way that everybody loved it. In anybody else's hands, that role could have fallen flat on his face.

"I owe him a huge debt."

Richardson, born in Edinburgh in 1934, joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1960.

The Scottish actor also worked in American theatre, appearing in Peter Brook's Marat/Sade on Broadway in the sixties and receiving a Tony nomination for his part as Professor Henry Higgins in a revival of "My Fair Lady."

Among his most memorable TV performances were the roles of Sir Godber Evans in "Porterhouse Blue" and as "Lord Groan" in "Gormenghast."

Other television roles included Bill Haydon in John Le Carre's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," and Sherlock Holmes in "The Hound of the Baskervilles."

He is survived by his wife, Maroussia, and two sons.

Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.

Veteran actor Graham Crowden said: "I always thought he was one of the most gifted speakers of Shakespearean verse, or any verse, of his generation. I only wish there were young actors around today who could emulate that.

"He was entirely professional and easy to get on with, and had a very splendid career which reached star status. And he used to laugh at my jokes."